Costume
- Title:
- Costume
- Collection:
- Selections from the Cornell Anthropology Collections
- Donor:
- Victor Turner
- Date:
- 1950s
- Site:
- Mwinilunga, North-Western, Zambia (inhabited place)
- Location:
- Mwinilunga, North-Western, Zambia (inhabited place)
- Country:
- Zambia
- ID Number:
- Anthr1966_004_0014c_01
- Old Catalog Number:
- 966.4.14
- File Name:
- Anthr1966_004_0014c_01.jpg
- Culture:
- Ndembu
- Style/Period:
- Ndembu
- Work Type:
- masks (costume)
- Materials/Techniques:
- bark cloth
string
basketry (object genre)
pigments (probably clay) - Subject:
- ndembu (african people)
rites and ceremonies
masks
African
Turner, Victor W., 1920-1983
ritual objects - Measurement:
- A: 533.4 (left arm) (millimeters)
482.6 (right arm) (millimeters)
216 (hands from wirst to end of middle finger) (millimeters)
381 x 381 (bodice) (millimeters)
127 (breasts) (millimeters)
B: 762 (leg) (millimeters)
254 (foot length) (millimeters)
102 (foot width at arch) (millimeters)
457 (leg circumference) (millimeters)
229 (leg cirfumference at ankle) (millimeters)
C : 762 (leg) (millimeters)
254 (foot length) (millimeters)
102 (foot width at arch) (millimeters)
457 (leg circumference) (millimeters)
229 (leg cirfumference at ankle) (millimeters)
D: 203.2 (mask length) (millimeters)
117.8 (across at eyes) (millimeters)
38 (nose length) (millimeters)
63.5 (ear length) (millimeters)
50.8 (across mouth) (millimeters)
228.6 (neck length) (millimeters)
533.4 (neck circumference) (millimeters)
406.4 (metal ring circumference) (millimeters) - Description:
- Pieces A-C The costume is made entirely of woven bark string segments done in knotless netting. The segments are also sewn together with bark string. Piece A consists of 6 segments the collar, and the bodice part. A pair of wooden b breasts and a bark string naval are attached to the bodice. The legs are attached to the ankle and feet segments with bark string, while the soles of the feet are made of rubber and leather. The colors used in the costume are red (10 R 4/8 red), white (10 YR 7/3-6/3 white-very pale brown) and brown (5 YR 3/1-4/1 dark grey). The legs and feet are of red, white, and brown stripes (circling around the legs) with triangles of the same colors at the feet. The shirt is also of these same colors. The arms, hands, and fingers are all striped. The collar has a design of squares within rectangles and the bodice has segments of rectangles in distorted shapes, and triangles. The bodice seems to be divided into four sections - upper and lower right, and upper and lower left. The breasts are made of wood and are painted black. Bark string has been wrapped around them to make a pattern of red, white, and black circles. This costume, which goes with mask 966.4.14 D, was worn in the Mukanda ceremonies (circumcision rites) of the Ndembu tribe by the makishi dancers. Piece D The mask is made of carved, incised wood. The hair of either hemp or bark string (probably the latter) is sewn on to the iron ring frame with bark string. The woven bark string neck is sewn on to the mask (with more bark string) through drilled holes in the wood. Aside from the eyes, nose, and mouth, the face is decorated with various combinations of pairs of incisions. There is a set of four pairs above each eye and a set of three pairs below each eye. There are three such incisions on the chin and others spaced around the eyes. The ears are carved out and are skillfully done. There is a circle with a cross in it on the forehead over the nose. All of the incisions are painted black, except for the eyebrows and the lines outlining the eyes. The rest of the face is painted a bright red. This mask is worn in the Mukanda ceremonies (circumcision rites) of the Ndembu tribe. It represents a woman judging from the red face and the breasts on the costume with which it was worn (966.4.14 A, B, C).
- Bibliography:
- Victor Turner, The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual (Cornell University Press, 1967)
- Archival Collection:
- Ndembu masks and costumes
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- The images in the Collection 'Selections from the Cornell Anthropology Collections' are protected by copyright, and the copyright holders are Cornell University Library and the Department of Anthropology. Physical artifacts from the Cornell Anthropology Collections were photographed by Cornell University Library in 2012-13 for inclusion in this image collection. Cornell is providing access to the materials for research and personal use. The written permission of any copyright and other rights holders is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use that extends beyond what is authorized by fair use and other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.
Cornell would like to learn more about items in this collection and to hear from individuals or institutions that have any additional information. This collection is funded by an Arts and Sciences Grant to Frederic W. Gleach, Curator of the Anthropology Collections. Please contact him for more information about this collection, or to request permission to use these images.